The Vows
by how-i-met-my-otp
Summary: Swarkles' wedding vows. I know that part of the point was the unimportance of vows, but I hated how little we got to see (or should I say hear) of their wedding because of Future Ted's voiceover. Plus, I think that what the fandom needs right now are some positive swarkles feels. So hopefully this helps.


Robin stepped up to the aisle, her anxieties far behind her. She finally felt ready for something she never thought she would. She returned her soon-to-be-husband's enormous grin.

"Hi." Barney gazed in awe at the Robin, who looked more beautiful than he even believed to be possible. He couldn't manage to say any other word in that moment, and neither could she.

"Scherbatsky, there's really no need for me to swear my love for you, or make any promises that it'll always be there. And it's not that it isn't the case, but because I'm going to love you regardless of any vows I make. So what I will promise is that I will always be honest with you, because you deserve the truth. And there isn't any need for me to lie anymore, especially not with you.

I always thought when this day came, I'd be terrified, or running towards the door. But I'm not scared at all. I've always had a fear of relationships and commitment, and marriage especially, but not with you. I wasted so much of my life looking for people to get into bed with, but you're the first person I've ever wanted to wake up beside. And looking back, that's the way it's always been with you, even though I wasn't able to admit it to myself at first. For every moment that we weren't together, there was a piece of me, deep down somewhere, that wanted us to be. When you weren't around, I was always thinking about you, no matter how hard I tried not to. And that's because… I love absolutely everything about you. You're my best friend and, I hate to use the word because it makes me feel like a complete Ted, but you're my soul mate.

And I know now that I'll never be alone again, or have to feel empty again and that makes me indescribably happy. I'm finally starting a chapter in my life I can call 'legendary' and truly mean it."

Robin wiped the tears from her eyes, shaking her head. "I can't believe I'm crying right now. I never thought I'd be a girl to cry on her wedding day." She gave a little laugh, "I never thought I'd even have a wedding day."

She slowed down, preparing herself to say the words she had always had trouble with, "I just… I love you so much. I've spent way too much time trying to make sense of it, but it's not supposed to make sense. I get that now. There's no logical explanation as to why we should be together, but I do know this: I've never been happier than I am with you."

He reached for her hand, loving the way it felt within his own. He wanted to return each of her words back to her, because they were as true for him as they were for her. It was what made them so great together, no one understood either of them the way they understood each other.

She continued, calmer now than she was before despite the tears resting in her eyes. "That always terrified me more than it should have. I ran away so many times because I was too scared to accept my feelings towards you. I was scared of the thought that I had the capacity to be so madly in love. And I hated that I loved you because there were these voices inside of me that told me not to trust you because you've always been so sociopathic. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that that only made me love you even more. I guess you really are my Dahmer." She laughed, and he smiled because he loved her laugh the same way he loved every little thing about her.

"I felt so crazy, but now I get it because love itself is crazy. And I'm okay with being crazy if I get to be crazy with you. I'm done with reason, because reason has never made me as happy as you do. I realize now that it's okay that we've always been a little messy. I've always been a mess. So have you. I know now that I really can look for all the reasons in the world to run away from what we have, and that they'll be there and always will be, but none of that matters because I love you. And love trumps all reasoning. It is the best thing we do. So I vow to never run away again, and I know that it's a promise I can keep because I don't want to run away, not anymore or ever again."

Barney and Robin looked at each other, their eyes full of tears and love and countless emotions that they would never know how to put into words. Their gaze wasn't broken as their minister pronounced them husband and wife. They carefully slipped the wedding rings onto each other's fingers, both as happy as any person could ever be.

"You may kiss the bride."

Neither of them hesitated, pulling each other in close for a soft kiss.


End file.
